Lt. Bill Starr has been put on administrative leave for connection to ex-deputies August, Penney

You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters

By Ken Mashinchi

Bakersfield, CA — Lt. Bill Starr of the Kern County Sheriff's Office has been put on paid administrative leave while the department investigates his believed involvement with ex-KCSO deputies Logan August and Derrick Penney.

Starr has been on leave since May 30th.

August and Penney took plea deals in federal court last month for possessing and selling marijuana, including breaking into an evidence storage area and stealing marijuana from there.

Starr has not been criminally charged and it is unknown if the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating him.

Starr has been with KCSO since 2000.

Starr supervised Penney from November 2014 through February 2016 and August from October 2013 to April 2015.

If charged, Starr would be the fifth Bakersfield Police Department or KCSO member to be charged in a drug scandal that began with former BPD detectives Damacio Diaz and Patrick Mara pleading to charges involving possessing and selling meth.

Diaz and Mara are serving five year prison sentences. Mara has been linked to being involved with August and Penney.